This invention relates to desks and work stations and, in particular, to work stations suitable for mounting electrical and/or communication equipment such as computer monitors and telephone turrets.
A variety of desks suitable for an office environment are known and such desks are made from various materials including metal, wood and suitable plastics. It is also known to construct office furniture in a modular fashion that permits a wide variety of furniture groupings or arrangements. Thus, with a relatively few basic components, it becomes possible to provide a furniture arrangement that is particularly suited for an individual customer's needs.
With the advent of the "electronic" office and the more extensive use of data supply monitors, personal computers, communication key pads, microphone and speaker systems, a need for furniture that is particularly suited for supporting and holding such equipment has developed. If a lot of electrical and electronic equipment are required together with communication equipment in a relatively small space, it becomes essential to route the necessary wiring and cables in an efficient manner and by a method that does not detract from the appearance of the office or hamper a service person from installing additional equipment or conducting repairs. Wiring and cables should be located away from floor areas where persons might trip on them as they walk by, and cables should be managed and separated so as to reduce system distortions.
The use of a support beam which not only can be used to support work surfaces in an office but also can be used as a wiring and cable conduit is known in the art. Such a system is sold under the trade name "Race System" by Sunar of Waterloo, Ontario. This system has a large horizontal beam divided into upper and lower portions. From the rigid lower portion can be supported a set of drawers or a work surface. The upper portion of the beam forms a double raceway with one of the raceways being used for communication wiring and a lower raceway being used for electrical wiring. The beam must be supported at its ends by universal posts that extend to the top of the upper portion of the beam and that have feet to maintain them upright. This known system has several disadvantages including the fact that it does not come with any special housing or support for a computer monitor, display screen or key pad touch devices. If one simply rested a computer monitor on one of the work surfaces of this system, the monitor would be quite high and it would not be easy for a person sitting at the work station to see over the monitor. This problem becomes particularly acute if it is desired to arrange a number of monitors in side-by-side fashion along the support beam.
Another difficulty with the Race System is that a leg must always be positioned at the end of the beam and this may not be possible or desirable for some applications. Also, because of the need to place a leg at the end of each beam, it may be necessary to place a leg at a location that is inconvenient or that may obstruct the legs of an office worker. The system also requires a separate steel sleeve to run wiring or cable from the floor up to the bottom of the beam. Furthermore, access to the beam's two raceway system is difficult when equipment components have been placed on or before the beam.
Another office system that uses a beam type construction is that sold under the trade mark Burdick Group by Herman Miller, Inc., of Zeeland, Mich. The beam employed is relatively small and X-shaped in cross-section. Brackets can suspend components such as storage and filing cases below the beam or cantilever them to the side of the beam. However, heavy components must be balanced equally on either side of the beam above or below by means of connecting brackets. Because the brackets can be attached at any location along the beam, components can be placed where desired or easily relocated. Some further difficulties with this known system include the need for separate wire managers, retainers and covers for electrical and communication wires. In addition, the space provided along the beam for cables is insufficient for many applications. In addition, the beam is not sufficiently large and strong enough to support a sizeable work surface on one side only or to support this work surface at a distance away from the beam. A continuous electronic equipment housing is not available with this system.
A modular console enclosure that does not employ a beam for support purposes is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,331 issued Sept. 12, 1978, to Motorola Inc. Writing surfaces or work areas are provided at the front of the unit and are cantilevered from a V-shaped structural member. The equipment housings can either be high profile or low profile. A control panel can be mounted at an angle in the console by means of heavy brackets mounted on the inner sides of two wedge-shaped structural members. The angled mounting shown in this reference has the advantage of permitting the enclosure to accommodate one or more pieces of apparatus having a total front-to-back dimension greater than the depth of the enclosure. In addition, this apparatus is displayed at a desired angle of presentation to the operator. Such systems are believed to be less flexible and more expensive than a modular beam type system.
It is an object of the present invention to provide work stations that can be made at a reasonable cost and that are highly flexible so that the same components can be used to construct a variety of work station arrangements. The preferred work stations disclosed herein have ample accommodation for electrical and communication wiring and easy access to such wiring for maintenance or installation personnel.